Beauty Is Pain
by Model.Crisis
Summary: When supermodel judges storm the school to look for a new recruit for Design, the hottest fashion magazine in France, Yumi finds herself entering and flying through the rounds. Can she and Ulrich keep up a decent relationshiop with model Brodie afer her?
1. Contest

**Beauty is Pain.**

**Chapter 1 - Team Design Arrive!**

**A/N - Hey guys! I know I''m already trying to keep up with a lot of stories but I think thats more fun :). So just to let you know that I'll be updating more of my stories tonight for any of you who read them! Read and review! I hope you like this one!**

**DISCLAIMER! - I do not own Code Lyoko...to my dismay.**

"Yumi!"

"Ahh, good morning, Ulrich." The pretty Japanese girl, Yumi Ishiyama, turned to see her friend running towards her across the school grounds.

"Hey! I thought I'd catch you before chemistry class, Aelita said she was looking for you, um, some modelling thing...?" Ulrich frowned in confusion.

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that!" she smiled, "Aelita and I are going to try and win a modelling contract with Design."

Ulrich tried to look like he knew who Design were, "Um, good for you."

"Ulrich, _don't_ tell me you don't know who Design are?!" Yumi's eyes widened in amazement.

"Am I supposed to?"

"Design is the single, _greatest_ fashion company in France! This could be my big chance to be someone...although I doubt I'm pretty enough..." she looked sombrely at the ground.

"If it's any consolation Yumi, I think you look beau..." he paused, realising he had almost let his secret slip.

"I look...?" she raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Uh, I'm gonna be late for class, gotta fly!" he ran as quickly as he could, leaving the girl to laugh at him.

Yumi grinned at his idiocy. She'd long had a crush on Ulrich Stern, but to do anything about it would be suicidal – just about everyone in the school wanted to be his girl and the worst was Sissi Delmas, the headmaster's daughter, who would make her life a misery not worth living if anything happened between them. She sighed lightly and began strolling across the grounds. The sound of all the students talking and laughing and yelling came from all directions, the sun blazed on her face like an oversized sun bed and she smiled knowing that in a few seconds she would be with her best friends.

"Hey Aelita." She called to the pink-haired girl as she entered the main hall where the contest was being held.

"Hey." Aelita was typing furiously on Jeremie's laptop, "I told Jeremie to take a break from all the Lyoko work, but he refused, so I made a compromise; _I_ do the work _for_ him. It's good, 'cause I have to collect more knowledge on Lyoko and XANA, so I thought it was a good idea."

Yumi surveyed the competition, "Millie Solaviaff, a few girls Odd has dated...wait Odd has dated them all...and Sissi. _Big_ surprise."

"I think you'll win, definitely." Aelita commented.

"No way,_ you'll_ win Aelita. You're so much more original looking, y'know, with the pink hair and all." Yumi laughed.

"Ha-ha. Funny, but I'm not entering Yumi, I'm just here to support you." Aelita closed down the laptop and nodded towards the door, "And it looks like the people from Design are here."

"_Holy_..." Yumi and the rest of the room gazed in wonderment as the top scouters from the best known fashion company in the country and most of Europe entered the room.

She could name them all by sight: Annieliese Delanie, long blond hair and piercing blue eyes that almost glowed in the pale light of the drab gymnasium; Kia Troy, african-american, taller than anyone she had ever seen, and dressed from head to toe in leopard print; finally, came an unexpected male, he looked about Yumi's age and she didn't even try and hide her blush when he smiled in her direction.

"Girls, may I have your attention please?" there was no need for Anneliese to say this, every eye in the room was fixed on her or one of her companions, "My name is Anneliese Delanie, this is my fellow model, and good friend, Kia Troy. You probably know that already, but you probably have no idea who this stunning young lad is here – yes, he _is_ single."

Half the room giggled, and the other half swooned.

"My name is Brodie Kelly. I won the competition last year and I'm here to help judge with Anneliese and Kia. Feel free to ask questions before we begin." He smiled, showing perfect white teeth, ruffling a hand through his mocha hair. His most startling feature was his eyes; even bluer than Annelieses' and they had much more emotion behind them - Almost as though to trick you into trusting him right away.

Yumi shook herself out of the daydream of the boy and tried to focus on what he was saying.

"Now, firstly, can I ask you all to get in a line facing us?" Brodie waited patiently on the girls to move into a line, which took a matter of seconds in their excitement, "I'm going to move along the line and eliminate seventy percent of you." They gasped, "Yes, a large number of you will not make it through to the second round, but this business is tough, so don't take it too personally – you're just not what we're looking for!"

He spent the next few minutes walking along the line and saying, "Yes, " or "No," to various girls.

Millie Solaviaff was a "No.", her friend Tamiya was a "Yes.", then a series of no's followed until finally he arrived at Yumi. She held her breath and sucked her stomach in. He smiled at her and she nearly melted into the ground. Hardly keeping her posture, he nodded and said, "Yes."

She couldn't believe it! She was in! Yumi smiled to herself as most other girls received a "No.". Then Brodie arrived at Sissi Delmas and frowned, "Ridiculously bad posture, and not enough height..." he muttered and sighed, rolling his eyes and looking at Anneliese and Kia. They returned the look and he finally grunted out a "Yes.", leaving Sissi to smirk at the other, less fortunate girls.

Yumi mustered a laugh, knowing that the only reason Sissi had got through was due to her father. She just hoped it wouldn't mean a win. Being in her final year at Kadic, she heard a lot of things and knew a lot of things about how the school worked – and she knew how many strings Sissi Delmas was capable of pulling.

In the end, only twenty girls were left. Half of them in Yumi's year, but she had no idea who they were - the social problems of having best friends in the year below you.

"Tomorrow, we'll be taking full body swimwear shots. The key to modelling is having a killer body, no matter what they tell you. I suggest you all get a good sleep – we begin at seven am tomorrow." Brodie waved them off with a hand.

Yumi and Aelita sauntered out of the hall and as they reached the exit, Brodie called on the girl, "Hey, you! Yumi Ishiyama, isn't it?"

She turned, "Yeah, that's me."

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he glanced at Aelita, "_Alone_."

She nodded, "I'll catch you and the others outside." She told Aelita, before returning over to him, "What is it?"

"I think you have real potential to win this thing, Miss Ishiyama." He smiled, warming up his blue eyes like the sky on a summer's day.

"Uh..._me_? _Really_?" She blinked, "And call me Yumi, please."

"Yumi..." Brodie nodded, as if taking in the information, "Well, yes. I think you have excellent potential for winning this competition – better than that Sissi girl..."

"Let me guess, her father only let you hold this competition if you let her through to the final rounds?"

He smirked, "Yeah, but there was nothing about _winning_. All the judges are peeved about it though; there are so many girls who deserve it more than her."

"I know. But they're all used to Sissi pulling the strings – it was expected." She shrugged.

He laughed a little, "Well, anyway, where do you guys eat here? I'm _starving_!"

She looked at him blankly and he laughed again.

"I forgot to tell you, I'm enrolled as a student in Kadic until the competition is over. It would be too much hassle to travel to and from my old school anyway."

"What year are you in?" she asked, hopefully.

"Sixth and final, thank goodness!" He smiled, "Then I can be a full-time model instead of just a few photo shoots here and there."

"Me too." She smiled back, "I'm in sixth too. Come on, I'll take you to the cafeteria...You may change your mind about being hungry when you see what's for lunch."

He laughed, "It can't be that bad."

They began to walk out of the gymnasium into the sunny grounds of Kadic.

"Hmm...Let me think..." She frowned, "Today's Friday, so it's...meat loaf day..._yuck_. It _can_ be that bad."

"Meat loaf?" Brodie raised a dark eyebrow, "I think meat loaf's good."

"It is...unless our cook makes it and then it becomes meat loaf surprise. As in, 'guess what kind of animal, mineral or material is in the meat loaf this week', kind of surprise."

"Ahh. Well, I can try it at least." He pushed open the cafeteria door for her, "Ladies first."

Yumi smiled as her heart gave another small flutter, "Thanks, Brodie."

They walked into the queue amid the frantic whispers of girls straining to get a look at the male model.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay in here?" Yumi asked, glancing at the nearest clique.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. It happens all the time." He smiled, "Comes with the job...you just gotta learn how to deal."

The queue moved swiftly and sooner than they realised they had gotten their meat loaf and were shunted back into the chaos of tables and chairs that was the Kadic Cafeteria.

"This way," Yumi called to him, "I'll show you where we usually sit."

He tried his best to follow her through the large crowds swarming the area, pushing past numerous girls, handbags, empty seats and fallen trays, "Is it _always_ this chaotic?"

"Yup. Good news though, we're here!" Yumi plonked herself down at the table to her right, gesturing to a vacant seat for Brodie.

"Hey Yumi, who's the new guy?" Jeremy stopped looking at his Physics notes for a few seconds.

"This is Brodie...he's here to judge the competition. He's not staying long." Yumi smiled, "Brodie, this is Jeremy. The one poured over the laptop is Aelita."

"You were in the hall earlier, right?" he asked, again with the melting smile.

"Yeah." Aelita blushed.

"How come you never entered the modelling competition? You have fabulous bone structure and your hair is so unusual!"

"Girl things aren't my..._forte_. I'm more of a computer geek." She laughed, nodding to the laptop.

"Shame...you'd have done awfully well." Brodie told her.

"And this is Odd." Yumi indicated the blonde and purple-haired boy across the table with Aelita and Jeremy.

"Odd Della Robia, to be exact! Pleased to meet you, Brodie." Odd held out a hand in greeting.

Brodie took it and smiled at the eclectic boy, "Pleased to meet you too."

"Hey, where's Ulrich?" Yumi frowned, finally noticing that the chair to her right was empty.

"He'll be here soon. Mr Federico asked him to stay behind in Spanish class for a moment." Odd sighed as he picked gently at the meat loaf, "Now I know I'm usually all for the cook's food but uh...This is inedible even by my standards."

"Wow, Odd. If you can't eat it then there really _must_ be something wrong with it."A familiar voice appeared in Yumi's ear and filled the empty seat.

"_Funny_, Ulrich." Odd threw him a look and began to scoff down his jello.

"Ulrich, this is Brodie." Yumi indicated to her left, "Brodie, Ulrich." She paused to laugh at Odd, who had just spilt his soda down his purple jumper.

"You look so wonderful when you laugh, Yumi." Brodie's eyes pierced into her heart, making it quiver, "You should use that in a photo shoot."

"Thanks," she blushed, "I'll keep it in mind."

Ulrich cut in, making her jump, "So what do you do, _Brodie_?" he asked, and Yumi hoped she was the only one who heard the jealousy in his voice.

Apparently not.

"I'm a model. I won the contest Yumi's in for. I'm the _top model_ for Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap, and the other day I _nailed_ a contract for _Dolce and Gabbana_." He smirked back at the boy.

They continued like this all through lunch, Yumi caught in the middle of it all.

At the end of the day, she caught up with Ulrich on the way back to his dormitory, "Hey Ulrich, are you coming to the party at Emily's tonight?"

"What's your interest in me? Don't you want to go with _Brodie_?" he almost spat the name out.

"Ulrich, I..."

"No, Yumi, you've led me on for long enough and suddenly this model boy decides to show up and tell you that you look good enough to be famous and you forget all about us!" Ulrich yelled, his face going red.

"Ulrich, there _isn't_ an _'us'_! You're always to chicken to tell me how you feel...and if this is it out into the open, then it wasn't very romantic!" Yumi yelled back at him in a rage, and began to walk back down the corridor.

"Yumi, I _love_ you."

She stopped, catching her breath, "You _what_?"

"_I love you_. I'm not gonna pretend anymore. I can't take it. First things with William and now this Brodie guy – I can't last much longer on this." Ulrich walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I..." She turned and before she knew it she was kissing him.

She was so lost in his embrace. She'd thought of how this scene would happen so many times and it had never worked out the way she had wanted in the end.

They pulled apart, gasping.

"Will I see you at Emily's then, Ulrich?" she smiled as he turned the handle for his dorm room.

"Bet on it." He smiled back, rubbing the lip gloss from his face.

She turned and began to walk out of Kadic. Life was just short of perfect.

**A/N – hmm. I smell troubleee! Well guys, review and tell me what you think. I'm incorporating several elements into this story. It's not all gonna be as happy as that chapter. In fact, the way I've planned it, it all goes downhill from here. Haha. Thanks for reading** .


	2. Alcohol

**Chapter 2 – Alcohol.**

**A/N – Hey guys. I'm back with another update haha! I'm glad you're all enjoying this story, so keep up the reviews if you want more frequent updates, because the reviews are what encourage me most. My brain is dead haha; I just got out of a maths prelim. It wasn't too bad I suppose, compared to what it could have been. My English one is tomorrow so wish me luck!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CODE LYOKO.**

"_Yumi!_ Ulrich's at the door!" Mrs Ishiyama called to her daughter from the downstairs landing.

"Just a second!"

Yumi checked herself in the mirror. An electric blue dress ran from her shoulders to just above her knees. Sequins dotted the straps and a large bow tied it in around her thin waist. Her usually blank face had been illuminated by make-up and on her feet were a pair of glittering blue sandals. Flat, of course. She didn't want to completely dwarf Ulrich when he was already shorter than her.

"Right." She sighed, nodding to herself, "Ready to go."

As she left the house her mother called after her, "When will you be back, dear?"

"Sometime tomorrow!" Yumi laughed as she ran down the path, knowing her mother would never have agreed if she had known she was crashing at Emily's.

She walked over to Ulrich, who was waiting for her at the end of her front lawn.

"Yumi...you look..._amazing_." was all he managed to say.

"Thanks." She blushed. The sequins on her dress glittered under to streetlights.

They embraced and Yumi let go quickly after realising they were still outside her house.

"Come on, Emily's house is just a couple of minutes away." Ulrich told her, "Odd, Aelita and Jeremy already went ahead." He took her hand and she didn't object as they walked through the empty streets.

It was getting dark and Yumi couldn't see what Ulrich was wearing, which annoyed her since he had already complimented what had taken her hours to plan out, "So, uh, Jeremy _actually_ decided to go?" she laughed nervously.

"Yeah, haha." Ulrich laughed equally so, "I think it took a _lot_ of persuading from Aelita though. But if she wants him to do anything he more or less gives in, in the end."

"So who's Odd's date?" Yumi asked.

"Who do you think? The hostess herself. He decided to give Emily another go." Ulrich told her.

"Isn't that like the...sixth time?" Yumi smiled as they walked up to the large Victorian house from which music was already blaring.

"_Seventh_ I think. You know Odd. He'll be off her again tomorrow." Ulrich opened the door, "Ladies first."

Yumi laughed and walked into the wave of partygoers.

"_HEY YUMI! ULRICH_! Didn't think you'd be here so late!" Odd swayed over to them with Aelita and Jeremy in tow, already blatantly drunk, "Want some vodka? It's got coke in it!"

"Um...I suppose it won't hurt to have one glass." Yumi took the cup from his hand and downed it in one.

Ulrich opened the bag he had carried on his back and brought out a few bottles of beer and a large bottle of rum, "These are for you guys." He handed the beers to Odd and Jeremy, keeping a couple for himself, "And this is for you, since I know you like it best." He gave the bottle of rum to Yumi.

"Wow, thanks Ulrich." She smiled gratefully, remembering the first time they had gotten drunk together at Odd's birthday party. She had never had as much alcohol as was in this bottle though.

_"Let's go partaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy!"_ Odd flung two beers down his gullet in quick succession and ran off to find more people to talk to.

"We're going outside – Emily's got a barbecue on." Aelita said, "Are you coming with?"

"We'll stay inside for now Aelita." Yumi told her friend, "I think I want to drink this first. Ulrich?"

"Yeah. I'll stay with Yumi guys." Ulrich followed her to the table in the hallway upon which she placed herself, grabbing the nearest bottle opener and popping open the rum.

"Don't drink it _too_ fast." Ulrich laughed as she downed half of it in one go.

"I don't care. It's a party and I don't have to go home. I'm going to enjoy myself tonight." She finished the rest of it shortly afterwards, when Ulrich produced another bottle.

"This one's for me!" he chortled as she tried to take it from him.

They fought over the bottle until Yumi decided she felt dizzy and lay back on the table. Ulrich downed the whole bottle without taking a single breath.

"Ulriiiiiiich?" Yumi giggled.

"What, Yumi?" Ulrich smiled and lay back beside her.

"Come and dance!" she leapt up off of the table with newly obtained adrenaline and forced him into the living room where several drunken teenagers frolicked around, jumping on sofas and entangled in dark corners.

"Uhh...alright." Ulrich shrugged and allowed himself to be danced with...or upon. Yumi was bumping and grinding to the music.

Ulrich felt the rush of the toxins hit his brain and he began to forget everything. Everything but Yumi.

For both of them shortly afterwards, everything went black.

**A/N – enjoy it? Click the review button and let me know! And also, for everyone who asked me if this would be a completely YxU fic, technically it does revolve around their relationship BUT it is not the sole focus and there will be a lot of complications. Like I said, this won't be a happy story – for the most part. I don't even know if I'll end it badly or not. I may leave that up to you guys. Model.Crisis, over and out!**


	3. Dirty

**Chapter 3 – Dirty.**

**A/N – A lot of people were displeased with my introducing alcohol into my story so let me clear things up; all the kids are in their final years at Kadic now, being either sixteen or seventeen, and also, it's quite common where I come from for kids that age to go out and get absolutely hammered. Ha. How lovely is Scotland? Anyway, like I said before – it goes pretty downhill from here. It MAY pick up again towards the end however, depending on my reviews.**

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own Code Lyoko. If I did it wouldn't have ended ever.**

Yumi grunted as she awoke the next morning. Her head was pounding and one glance at the clock told her it was only eight am. She turned back over onto the bed, trying to recollect her broken memories from the night before, and screamed.

"Unghh?" Ulrich sat up beside her, rubbing his eyes. When he looked at her his face went blank.

Yumi's eyed widened in horror as she saw his naked torso rise from the bedcovers, "Ulrich...What the Hell happened last night?"

He blushed brightly as she sat up and she realised she too had nothing on the top half of her body. A quick glance underneath the sheets told them they were both wearing nothing but their birthday suits.

"Shit." He looked at her and in the tension of the moment they both burst out laughing.

"Did _we_...Do you think we _actually_...?" Yumi's face straightened up as she once again tried to remember what had happened the night before.

Ulrich leaned over the side of the bed and when he leant back up he had a white rubber thing in his hand, "At least we were safe..." He managed to say.

A condom. Of course. Yumi sighed with disdain, "You know I really wanted to remember my first time."

"Hey, we're in the same boat here." Ulrich smiled a little at her for the first time and she felt her heart pounding.

"Hmm. Yeah I guess. I just feel...disappointed." Yumi looked at her hands, wringing them.

"..."Ulrich also resorted to looking at his hands, "We should probably get out of here. We'll see if the others are here and..."

He made a move to get out of the bed before realising what it would reveal.

"Whatever." She said, "Just get up. I've seen it before anyway, apparently."

Yumi got out the bed and began to look for her clothes, throwing Ulrich his over when she found them.

Once they were both fully dressed and had checked themselves out in the mirror, they wandered out of the bedroom and into the main hallway, where numerous amounts of people were still sleeping on the floor with many a bottle of alcohol in sight.

"There's two, at least." Yumi said, pointing to Jeremie and Aelita who were sleeping peacefully on the couch – fully clothed, "Wake up guys, we're leaving." She tapped them roughly on the arms.

Aelita yawned, "Five more minutes..." Another sharp tap from Yumi. "Ahh, what? Oh Yumi, it's just you. What time is it?"

"Half past eight." Yumi smiled, "Let's wake up Einstein."

"Let me do it. It takes an entire marching band to wake this genius up most mornings." Ulrich grabbed Jeremie by the shoulders and began to shake him violently, "HEY EINSTEIN! WAKE UP! LYOKO'S IN DANGER!"

"_WHAT?! Get to the scanners_!" Jeremie's eyes snapped open and the others laughed at him, "Ulrich, I told you not to do that already!"

"It was worth it." Ulrich smirked cheekily at his friend.

"Where's Odd?" Aelita asked, peering around the room.

"I'd guess in the hostess' bedroom. I wouldn't disturb them..._Might not_ be a sight you want to see." Ulrich told her pointedly.

"Oh." Aelita's eyes widened as she caught onto Ulrich's meaning, "We'll phone him later then."

"Yeah, we need to get somewhere and get cleaned up before we get back to Kadic." Ulrich nodded.

"My parents are at work, and I think Hiroki's at a friend's for the day. You guys can shower at mine if you want to." Yumi offered to her weary friends.

"Yeah Yumi, that'd be nice." Aelita rubbed her eyes sleepily, "You smell awful! How much did you drink? In fact..." She looked at the tousled pair and compared them to the still messy but less so pair of her and Jeremie, "_WHAT_ did you do last night?"

The pair blushed and Yumi tried to straighten out her hair.

"Forget it...I don't think I want to know." Aelita raised an eyebrow at them.

"Come on, let's go." Yumi shook her head embarrassedly.

* * *

The familiar sound of the Subdigitals music blasted from Yumi's phone. Which was unusual since it was five am on a Monday morning. 

"Hello?" Yumi answered, wondering who on Earth would call at this time of the morning.

"Yumi! It's Brodie!" the smooth voice of the model melted through the phone, "I'm sorry for calling so early, but I was up early and I thought I'd remind you that the first photoshoot begins at ten today. I was just wondering if I could take you out for some breakfast before it?"

Yumi stopped, a feeling of guilt in her stomach. For some horrible reason she did not want Brodie to know about her and Ulrich. She also suddenly felt a rush of digust at herself for sleeping with him so quickly. However, Brodie wasn't exactly asking for a date. He just wanted to take her out for breakfast. Nothing romantic.

"Alright, where are we going?" She asked patiently.

"Meet me outside your house in two hours. I'll take you to a sweet place nearby." He told her.

"Alright, now let me sleep for another half hour!" She laughed before cutting him off.

After ten minutes of not getting back to sleep, she wandered into the bathroom for a shower. Thoughts about the party plagued her mind. She had slept with Ulrich. Whether she was ready or not, it had happened. Yumi didn't know how to react. She'd had sex for the very first time and she couldn't even remember it happening. An unfamiliar feeling rose up in her as she washed the shampoo out of her hair. Yumi Ishiyama felt dirty. And she didn't like it one bit.

**A/N – Hmm. Wonder what'll happen next? Ideas welcome. I kind of know how this is going but I want some input from you guys as well. One thing though. The next chapter WILL get much darker. This seems to be turning into an episode of Skins. Haha. Review if you want to make me happy. Next chapter is Breakfast.**


	4. Breakfast

**Chapter 4 - Breakfast.**

**A/N – Back again with another instalment of this new story. I think it's coming along nicely – I'm keeping you guessing at every turn ********. Excellent. Here you go guys.**

**DISCLAIMER – ME NO OWN CODE LYOKO OKIEEES?!**

Yumi checked herself over in the mirror multiple times in between making sure she had everything in her bag for school and the photo-shoot and stopping to fix an unruly bit of hair. She didn't understand why she was so obsessed with what she looked like these days. It seemed that this modelling contract meant a lot more to her than she thought. She examined herself in the mirror and in her horror discovered that she had put on some weight in the past week. Her usually slender frame seemed a few pounds lighter.

"I'd better be careful with what I eat for breakfast. Don't want to look ridiculous in the photo-shoot later." She told herself just before a horn blasted outside.

Yumi ran to the window to see Brodie sitting in a light blue convertible. It looked expensive.

He waved to her from the street below, "You ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be two seconds!"

She once again checked over her frame in the mirror, rubbing her stomach in despair, before bolting downstairs and then walking calmly as she could out of the door.

"Good morning!" He smiled at her, his blue eyes lit up by the same colour of sky in the morning sun.

"Morning!" She smiled back at him sweetly, "Nice car!"

"Why, thank you." He laughed, "Care to take a ride?"

"Don't mind if I do." She hopped over the door he was about to open for her and landed smack on the seat.

She knew she was flirting voraciously with him, she just didn't know how to stop that part of her around Brodie. When she was around him, the side that wanted something more than good grades and the perfect boyfriend was bursting to break free.

Realising this, and that she had to keep it under control, she stopped herself from enjoying the rest of his stories too much by telling herself, "Ulrich. Ulrich. I _love Ulrich_." Over and over again, just to ease her mind.

The car stopped and Yumi realised that they were at a cosy little pancake place.

Great, pancakes... she thought. Another fattening outlet. How on earth does Brodie keep so thin?

Brodie took her over to a cosy little booth at the back of the restaurant. She hadn't wanted this to seem so romantic. Especially when her and Ulrich had just started their first real relationship.

"So what do you want?" Brodie asked her, "It's all on me, remember!"

"Umm, I'll just have some coffee and a pancake with butter." She smiled politely, pretending to want what she didn't.

"Okay, Waiter!" Brodie called over the nearest one, "Could we have the pancakes with butter, two coffees and a super-deluxe pancake delight?"

"Of course, sir." The man took his notes and walked into the kitchen to deliver the order.

"So, how did you get into modelling anyway?" Yumi asked him inquisitively.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I was never really into it." He laughed, "My friends at my old school all told me to go for it even though I had no interest in it in the beginning. Eventually I began to see how fun the industry really is – parties, free stuff, amazing money...and of course, pretty girls." He looked at her cheekily and she blushed.

"Ha, Brodie, very funny." She stammered, not knowing why she couldn't bring herself to tell him her and Ulrich were an item.

"I'm not kidding Yumi, you're gorgeous."

"Oh look, pancakes!" Yumi let out a sigh of relief as the waiter placed two steaming hot plates on their table.

"Mmm! I'm starving! Let's eat!" Brodie delved into his 'super-deluxe pancake delight' which was at least three huge pancakes piled in chocolate sauce, syrup, whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles.

Yumi felt sick when she looked at her tiny plate of pancakes and butter which drizzled off the side of them. She prodded them with her fork, cutting them into smaller and smaller pieces to stop herself eating them. Only when Brodie had half finished and was once again initiating conversation did she begin to slowly eat the little squares.

By the time he had finished his breakfast completely, she had only eaten a quarter of what was on her plate. It looked as though she had eaten a lot more however, as all the tiny pieces were scattered around creating the effect she had desired.

"You finished?" Brodie looked at her, wiping the small bit of whipped cream attached to his bottom lip.

"Yeah, I'm full!" she nodded, hoping he wouldn't notice that she had eaten less than one pancake.

"Alright, then lets head out to Kadic before the photo-shoot."

Once they were back in the car, Brodie made most of the conversation about stories of the industry with the occasional input from Yumi, who was asking questions about shoots and what she should do today.

"It's all about your angles," He told her, "Just work out what's best for you, and find lots of different ways to get that across."

They pulled into the car park at the back of Kadic.

"I had a really nice time with you today Yumi." He placed his hand on her arm, turning her to face him.

Yumi knew what was going to happen before it did but she still couldn't bring herself to stop him until mid-kiss.

"I...I can't Brodie." She couldn't look him in the eyes, "I'm sorry...Ulrich and I...We're kinda together now."

"I see." Brodie nodded as though unaffected by this news, "The thing is Yumi...why did you let it happen if you didn't want to?"

She looked at him, unable to answer.

He smiled, "I guess you can figure that out on your own. See you at the shoot."

They walked their separate ways, Yumi still feeling a tingle on her lips as she walked into the grounds.

"Hey Yumi." A soft pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind.

She smiled, her heart growing warmer and beating faster, "Hi Ulrich."

"Where've you been?" He asked, swinging her around to face him, "You're usually in before I am in the mornings – and I live here."

"I was out for breakfast." Yumi sighed, there was no point in lying to him, it would only make him suspicious, "With Brodie – to discuss the shoot."

"Yumi...I don't like that guy. He's trouble." Ulrich frowned, his own jealousy of the model getting the better of his temper.

"It's not like it was a date. Don't panic about it." Yumi tried to calm him down, We were just talking about the shoot."

"Yeah, but it's not like he didn't want anything else Yumi – I've seen the way he looks at you!" Ulrich began to yell, "I mean come on, Yumi. It's not as though I don't see you two flirting whenever I'm not around."

"Ulrich, it's not like that!" She yelled, "And if you don't trust me, then why are we doing this?"

"...I don't know. Maybe we _aren't_ doing this anymore." Ulrich hung his head and she walked away, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

The photo-shoot was crowded with girls all having their hair and makeup done by beauty artists.

Yumi was ushered to the nearest free booth where a pretty blonde poked and prodded at her face with various brushes and powders, while another snipped and straightened her hair with sprays and Kirby-grips.

"Here, put this one on."

A swimsuit was flung at her – blue and pink – and she flung it on just in time for her to be called out.

The shoot, she was told, was about a model left at the beach by her boyfriend, and they were to portray the hot and bothered frustration while still maintaining the glamorous edge.

The hot and bothered she got thanks to the halogen heaters they had set up all around the shoot. She began to nail the frustration in the first couple of minutes when Brodie's entry to the room reminded her of what Ulrich had done and what Brodie had tried to do. Apparently the emotions running through her brain portrayed on her face well, as the photographer began to criticise her less and praise her more. Another five minutes, and he was happy with her shots and let her go.

The wannabe models all sat around after the shoot as one by one, they were criticised and then told whether they would be staying on for the next round. Twelve of the twenty girls were to advance to the next round.

Yumi held her breath as the results were read out. Then forgot how to resume breathing when her name was the first called to stay. The other names that ran past were a blur. She had gotten into the next round! She knew she really had to commit from now on.

Brodie approached her as she was on her way out of the school grounds, driving past in his car, "Hey Yumi. You rocked today!"

She tried not to look too pleased, "Thanks Brodie."

"No really – you were really, really good." Brodie smiled, then his voice dropped to a more serious tone, "Look, Yumi – I'm really sorry 'bout what happened earlier. It was impulsive and I won't do it again. If you'll let me make it up to you, there's a party tonight and all the top modelling agencies will be there. It'll be a great way to get you noticed, and I promise I won't try anything."

Yumi smiled slyly, "I didn't say you shouldn't."

He looked puzzled, "What about you and Ulrich?"

"We're through." She frowned sadly, "He couldn't handle my new found talent."

"Well, then that's his problem." Brodie smiled, "And in that case Yumi Ishiyama, would you like a lift home?"

"I would indeed." She hopped into the convertible and they sped off.

"The party starts at eight, so I'll pick you up at seven, okay?" Brodie stopped outside her house.

"Okay." Yumi smiled at him, "And Brodie?"

"What?"

She kissed him gently, "Thanks."

Yumi left the car with a large grin on her face, leaving a confused look on Brodie's.

* * *

At ten to seven, Yumi once again found her stomach in knots. Her head felt dizzy, but she knew that was only because she hadn't eaten since breakfast due to her new found fat that she knew she had to get rid of. She looked at herself in the mirror. _'Fatty. Fat bitch. Look at you. You don't even look good in this outfit. Brodie's going to laugh at you. He was probably disgusted that you even kissed him today. You're horrible.' _She thought, prodding her stomach and butt.

She donned an electric blue miniskirt with black braces and a tight-fitting white shirt with ruffles around the short sleeves; both of which clung tightly to her butt and breasts. Her bare legs were slightly tanned and on her feet she had a pair of dainty black heels. Giving her lipstick another go over (the tenth time), she sat nervously on the end of her bed.

Needing not to wait for long, at precisely seven pm, a horn blasted from outside.

Running full-pelt downstairs, Yumi Ishiyama stopped calmly at her front door, called goodbye to her parents and walked down the garden path.

"Whoa, Yumi. You look amazing." Brodie's eyes widened at the girl's presence.

She giggled, "Thank you Brodie. You don't look half-bad yourself."

"It's our job to look good Yumi." He sighed slightly, starting the car, "Here; drink some of this before we get there." He handed her a half litre of vodka, "It'll stop you from being too nervous in front of the agents."

She took it and realised it was half-empty, "Have you been drink-driving Brodie?"

"Do I look drunk to you?"

She could smell the alcohol on his breath, but it didn't seem to have kicked into him, "Okay." She said uncertainly.

He laughed at her nervous disposition, "Trust me Yumi. I'd never put you in danger – You're too special for that. You're practically a sure-win for this tournament."

"Brodie, I..." She blushed, not knowing how to respond.

"Seriously Yumi, you're so stunning." Brodie smiled, "Now drink up and you'll be fine. You won't need all of it unless you want to drink it."

"Thanks Brodie." She felt stupid that she was always being so gratuitous towards him. It seemed that 'thank you' was all she really had to say to him.

"Thank you's are unnecessary." He smiled, "You're accompanying me here tonight. That's all the thanks I want."

The car came to a halt and Yumi had found herself downing over half of what was left. Brodie took the bottle from her and finished it. He opened up a compartment in the seat and stowed the empty bottle there.

"Okay, let's go in." She exhaled slowly and stepped out of the car.

"Yeah." He stepped out and walked around beside her, "And Yumi?"

"Yeah?"

He kissed her tantalisingly on the lips, "Good luck making an impression."

She looked at him, dazed, "Thanks." She grinned and they walked inside.

**A/N – Ooh! So Yumi's with Brodie now? I wonder how Ulrich will take to that? And how will Yumi handle her newfound talents? Find out in the next chapter: Party.**


End file.
